Literary Birthday – 11 February – Mo Willems

Mo Willems Quotes

1. If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave.
2. A book, being a physical object, engenders a certain respect that zipping electrons cannot. Because you cannot turn a book off, because you have to hold it in your hands, because a book sits there, waiting for you, whether you think you want it or not, because of all these things, a book is a friend. It’s not just the content, but the physical being of a book that is there for you always and unconditionally.
3. The difference between children and adults is that they’re shorter – not dumber.
4. An artist is waiting for the audience to understand the work. A craftsman is working to understand the audience.
5. All of the life-changing awesome words and pictures and ideas inside your library are useless without just one word outside your library: Open.
6. Writing for children is as easy as describing the history of the Byzantium in three words.
7. My favourite book is my next one. I’m always hoping to make my next book my best one.

Mo Willems is an American writer, animator, and creator of children’s books. He is the inaugural Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence. He is best known for his #1 New York Times bestselling picture books, which have been awarded three Caldecott Honors (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity), two Theodor Geisel Medals, and five Geisel Honors (The Elephant & Piggie series). His papers reside at Yale University’s Beinecke Library.

Source for photo: Author’s website and photo credit: Trix Willems

by Amanda Patterson

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